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Spring meeting words
With the subtly of a chainsaw, Kirby Smart said what everyone else has hinted toward and whispered about in terms of major college football.
From the SEC spring meetings, Smart issued the most direct answer to the power four — and especially the super-powerful programs in the Superpower Two of the SEC and Big Ten — during the SEC spring meetings.
Smart to reporters: “I’ve said this for a long time to our president, I’ve been a huge advocate that if we can’t find rules that everybody plays by, then we should play on our own. I’m not afraid of that. I’m not afraid to break away and say that our conference is strong enough to go out and play.”
He ain’t wrong.
And he ain’t alone.
So that leaves us with two questions, and none of them truly center on how fast Smart answered this question. (Cue Georgia speeding joke here as needed. You’re welcome, Spy.)
First, is Kirby now the Saban of current college football? Yes, Kirby is 1 in every coach rankings. Yes, I still have him ahead of Curt Cignetti, but the gap is closing.
But this question is bigger and more metaphysical.
Saban was the voice of the sport, and when he spoke it carried more weight than any other coach, commissioner or NCAA executive. Heck, from his third-from-the-right chair amid the chaos on the GameDay set, Saban still is the Saban of the sport.
But among the current coaches — the highest paid and most visible in the game and likely across all of college football — is Kirby now the Paid Piper?
Second, in a couple of parts, what would a breakaway look like and who would go with the Bulldogs?
I have my thoughts, and I will drop them around lunch before we head to the SE16 podcast studio, but wanted to put that out there for the group.
If Georgia goes, the majority of the power players in the SEC go, right?
I also think, as a baseline/jumping-off point for the discussion, I think the first step here is not breaking away.
It’s the SEC forming a collection of bylaws that supersede and/or overrule NCAA rules. And when that happens, the Big Ten will immediately follow suit, and the ACC and Big 12 also will quickly fall into that line of thinking.
Thoughts?
Speaking of NCAA matters
So the former governing body of college sports actually took a stand, and it was the only stand it could take.
The NCAA denied Brendan Sorsby’s appeal for reinstatement on gambling issues.
Sorsby made thousands of bets over the last several years. If that was it, then Sorsby likely would have an outside chance of returning to college football, where he was slated to make several million after transferring to Texas Tech.
But even after emerging from gambling rehab, Sorsby can’t avoid the reality and the ramifications of betting on Indiana football games while he was part of the Indiana football program several years ago.
That has to be the ultimate no-no these days, right?
Has to be, especially with the increased access and acceptance of legalized sports betting in current culture.
So the NCAA got this right, even if there will be more appeals. (And possibly more threats about folks breaking away.)
But here’s the question.
Sorsby’s path appears to be heading to the NFL supplemental draft, the mid-summer option for players with eligibility issues to enter the league without having to miss up to a whole calendar year of football.
So, if you were an NFL team, would you spend a lofty pick — whatever pick you use in the supplemental draft counts as your pick next April — on Sorsby considering his position and his circumstances?
He is viewed as a possible first-round talent, but the baggage is clear.
And these are admitted facts, not allegations, mind you.
Thoughts?
Thunder rolls
Loads of talking points and impressive numbers from Oklahoma City’s impressive 127-114 Game 5 win over San Antonio. OKC leads the Western Conference Finals 3-2 with Game 6 in Texas on Thursday.
Let’s start with the talking points.
> Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a tremendous player. Best drawing breath right now, if we’re being honest. But dude is a bona fide flopper and a free-throw thief. Both can be true friends.
> The Thunder have crafted a possible dynasty model in modern professional sports. They blew it up with trades and tanking. They acquired a young potential superstar in SGA and built around him. Now they are relentlessly deep and balanced and able to withstand the to-be-expected injuries this deep into the marathon. And they are five wins away from OKC going back-to-back.
> The Spurs are going to be a problem for years. Years. Victor Wembanyama looks like an all-timer, and the array of perimeter threats around him are young and dynamic.
As for the numbers, well, let’s explore these.
> OKC is now 9-0 after a playoff loss.
> OKC is now 32-0 when leading by double digits at halftime.
> And maybe most telling is this: SGA is on the precipice of moving into the most rarefied air of all-time NBA conversations. Five more wins would give SGA multiple MVPs and multiple titles. The other nine are some dudes you may have heard of: MJ, Bill Russell, Kareem, LeBron, Magic, Tim Duncan, Larry Legend, Steph Curry and Wilt Chamberlain.
Wowser.
This and that
> Braves played. Braves won. And Michael Harris went 4-for-4 with three RBIs. Atlanta is an MLB-best 20-8 on the road and a baseball-leading 37-18 overall.
> These takeaways from a USA Today sit-down with Lane Kiffin are worth your time. And yes, Kiffin saying Ole Miss would have made the college title game if he had stayed in Oxford primarily because it would have meant Pete Golding would have been able to coach from the sky box is the very definition of a backhanded compliment. We’re sill in late May, and Kiffin is in mid-season mode.
> More Lane. And then he took shots Tuesday at Kirby and conference title games. Somewhere, Steve Spurrier is smiling.
> Packers star RB1 Josh Jacobs was arrested on five counts of domestic abuse — including a felony — Tuesday. No es bueno.
> Maybe winning and losing fit when the Dodgers dropped 15 on the Rockies but watched as Shohei Ohtani was hit on the hand by a pitch and left the game. Shohei is scheduled to pitch tonight, so we’ll see.
> Rules, people. Here’s Paschall with more details on expansion from the SEC football coaches meeting with the media.
Today’s questions
Which Way Wednesday starts this way:
Which word best describes your viewing habits of the professional spring football league? None, a smidge, more than I expected?
Which college football coach is the spokesperson for the sport? Is there even one?
Which of those other nine players in that elite club SGA is poised to join is SGA better than? Any?
As for today, May 27, let’s review.
It’s the Mrs. 5-at-10’s brother’s birthday. Happy day, Will.
On this day four years ago, “Top Gun: Maverick” was released. Yes, I believe it went a long way to save the in-person movie experience. All-time sequel too, right there with “Godfather 2,” “T2” and a couple of others.
Sam Snead would have been 114 today.
Rushmore of sports Sams. Go.